Tomorrow 50 buses will roll from the Innviertel towards Klagenfurt – the twelfth man will definitely be on the side of the Innviertel in the ÖFB Cup final. The support from the ranks as an extra boost of motivation will also be needed to bring the almost overwhelming opponent to their knees.
And much more: A victory in the Bundesliga against Austria’s dominator is already a small miracle – in a final it becomes all the more difficult. A cup success against Salzburg happens about as often as the seven-fold jackpot in the lottery with 9.8 million euros, which a Linzer cracked this week.
It’s not about such a high bonus for the Innviertler on Sunday – even if a place in the group stage of the Europa League would be the reward. The emotional value of the triumph is SV Ried’s big trump card: Salzburg’s final victory, which everyone expected, would mean another trophy in the now endlessly long title showcase – for Ried it would be something historic. How can that succeed? Ried needs a perfect day tomorrow – and Austria’s reigning champion must not have returned to normal form after his party marathon in the past few days.
Take the cops by the horns
In the Bundesliga, Ried was recently unlucky: The Innviertler not only conceded late, avoidable goals, but also still have to deal with the relegation battle because they missed their place in the championship group by a hair’s breadth. Luck has to come back tomorrow to grab the cops by the horns. The fact that Ried is capable of doing this has already been proven this season: in the fall, coach Christian Heinle’s team beat Salzburg 2-2. In the round of 16 of the cup, Sturm Graz (2:1), currently the second most difficult task in Austria, was mastered away, which nobody had believed the Riedern capable of. Number one is due tomorrow. Gemma Ried, you can do it!
Everything speaks for Salzburg
One thing is clear to everyone: Everything speaks for Salzburg on Sunday. It starts with the superior quality: The Salzburg squad is valued at 220 million euros, 25 times that of Rieder. Salzburg’s German team striker Karim Adeyemi alone is estimated at 35 million euros, four times as much as all Innviertler professionals.
The Salzburgers are not resting on their laurels on this advantage over the Austrian competition, as the solo run to the champion’s plate proves. This title is not enough in self-understanding. It’s practically a duty to dust off the cup trophy as well – like eight times in the past ten seasons, including the 3-0 win in the 2015 final against Ried.
The last win against Salzburg was five years ago. In the most recent Bundesliga duel, Rieder fought a 2-2 win at home, although the opponent had started with the best players. This draw is an encouragement, but the conditions were completely different: At that time, the Bundesliga was only a sideshow for the champions, three days later the Champions League game in Wolfsburg was on the schedule. Ried, on the other hand, was fully focused on the game and feeling elated after winning the round of 16 in the cup at Sturm Graz. In addition, Ried never has anything to lose in games against Salzburg in the Bundesliga.
Virtually impossible to bend
It’s different in the cup. Salzburg, as the established champions, rested a few top performers against Sturm Graz (1-2) on Wednesday in order to be in the best possible shape at the last highlight of the season. Ried, on the other hand, staggered through the qualifying group and was unable to save any energy in the 1-1 draw against Admira on Tuesday in the fight to stay up.
In crucial games, Salzburg is practically impossible to bend in Austria, as LASK had to recognize in last year’s final when it was 3-0. A Rieder triumph would not be adequately titled “surprise” – it would be a miracle. The people of the Innviertel can draw inspiration from two platitudes: in football, anything is possible in a game. And there are always miracles.
- The live ticker by OÖN editor Markus Prinz accompanies you through the final day and through the final.
Source: Nachrichten
